Research Files

Downloading STAR Research Files

These research files contain results from the 2008 administration of the
California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program. Each file
contains the same information presented in the Test Results section of this
site and is provided to allow for more complex analyses and customized
reporting of the data.

In order to protect student confidentiality, no scores are reported (or included
in the research files) for any group of ten or fewer students.

Use of these research files requires some expertise in data handling.
Descriptions of the file formats, instructions for accessing the data, and
key points to properly manage the data are contained at the following link:

For PC users, the research files are available as self-extracting archive formats (.zip) in at least one of the following file formats:

Extensible Markup Language – (XML)

Comma delimited – (CSV) the separation between data fields is indicated by a comma

Fixed width – Data fields are aligned in columns with spaces between fields when necessary to preserve column alignment

MS Access 2000.mdb – Microsoft Access 2000 database

All research files listed below contain the data for entities comprising the level of that file. The “statewide” files include the data for the state, and all counties, districts, and schools. The “countywide” files include the data for the selected county and all districts and schools associated with that county.